Method and means for stripping roving bobbins and conditioning the stripped roving



Jan; 5, 1965 E. c. GWALTNEY ETAL 3,163,913 METHOD AND MEANS FOR STRIPPING ROVING BOBBINS AND CONDITIONING THE STRIPPED ROVING Filed June 2", 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV EN TORS EUGENE C. GWQLTIVE); JAMES L. EROWIV 6; BY RIC/106 0 FCFG'UJOIV 1965 E. c. GWALTNEY ETAL 3,153,913

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STRIPPING ROVING BOBBINS AND CONDITIONING THE STRIPPED ROVING Filed June 22, .1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N R. N

INVENTORS EUGENE C. GWALTNEK. JAMES L. GROW 6- BY K/Cl/JRD P506060 JI'I'OPNE Y 1965 E. c. GWALTNEY ETAL 3,163,913

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STRIPPING RQVING BOBBINS AND CONDITIONING THE STRIPPED ROVING Filed June 22, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 NVENTORS EUGENE C. GWALTIYA'K FAA/5 1.. BROWN 5 L NR M 6 N 0 0 nfi 5 1 w 4 0 m Y B United States Patent O 3,163,913 NETHOD AND MEANS FOR STPING ROVING ROBBINS AND CQNDETIONING THE STPED RGVING Eugene C. Gwaltney, Alexander City, Ala., and James L. Brown, Jr., and Richard Ferguson, Charlotte, N.C., assignors to The Terrell Machine Company, Charlotte, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed June 22, 1962, Ser. No. 204,480 12 Claims. (Cl. 2819) This invention relates in general to the stripping of waste roving from the spent bobbins that are generated in large quantifies as an incident of textile spinning operations, and that must have the waste roving cleared therefrom before they can be reused satisfactorily to receive a new roving supply package for delivery again to the spinning operation.

More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a uniquely efficient method and means by which provisions is not only made for stripping such waste roving effectively, but by which the stripped roving is also subjected to a recovery handling that conditions it for salvage at exceptional advantage.

Heretofore, little attention has been paid to the recovery handling of waste roving because general prior practice has been to spin from each roving supply package virtually to the point of exhaustion, so that the roving remaining on the spent bobbins as they were removed from the supply creel at the spinning operation represented no more than a tolerable waste factor, which did not justify special attention. More recently, however, there has been some trend toward soecalled block creeling, which involves reloading an entire side of a supply creel as soon as any bobbin on the side approaches the point of exhaustion, so that the spinning frame side being supplied from this creel side is prepared at one time for operation over an extended period, rather than requiring more or less continual watching to replace individual supply bobbins as they are about to run out.

Such block creeling offers the possibility of improving spinning production per spinner and quality substantially, but it has the disadvantage of increasing greatly the amount of waste roving that results from the spinning operation, because a considerable proportion of the bobbins removed are likely to have a great deal more roving remaining thereon than the particular one that was approaching exhaustion and signalled for reloading of the creel side as a block. As a result, the waste factor is substantially worsened by block creeling, so as to lessen objectionably the cost advantage of the improved spinning production per spinner and quality that is made possible.

According to the present invention, this objectionably high waste factor encountered in block creeling is effectively minimized by providing for stripping of the spent bobbins so that the waste roving is removed'therefrom in strand form and subjected first to a loosening draft, and then to a disruptive recovery action by which the roving fiber may, in most cases, be converted to a condition comparable with opened raw stock. Normally, the roving fiber recovered in this manner by the method and means of the present invention may be recycled through the fiber preparation process by direct addition at the picker stage, without requiring any further'reworking whatever. A very material advantage of this circumstance is that no appreciable damage is done to the fiber staple length, in contrast with the substantial shortening that commonly results from the reworking usually required for opening roving fiber adequately for reuse.

Even in those cases where the particular nature of the fiber being dealt with, or the condition of the roving, may make it difiicult to recover the roving fiber according isfactory for direct reuse, the recovered roving fiber will still be in a premium condition as compared with usual roving waste, and the method and means of the present invention may be employed to advantage under any conditions.

The invention is described in further detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus embodying the means and arranged for carrying out the method of invention;

FIG. 2 is a right end view corresponding generally with FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the structure seen at the upper left hand portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a more or less diagrammatic detail illustrating further the manner in which the waste roving is stripped and loosened and recovered according to the present invention; 7

FIG. 5 is a corresponding transverse section detail taken substantially at the line 55 in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the loosen- 1 ing means and the recovery means that are employed in the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the illustrated apparatus embodiment of the present invention comprises a suitable frame structure, as indicated generally by the reference numeral it that is fitted with boxing ll at its lower portion to form a collection space for roving waste recovered through operation of the apparatus; and that has a guide means 12 supported across the top thereof for directing spent roving bobbins B through the apparatus for stripping of the waste roving R therefrom that is to be recovered.

The frame structure 10 has an elongated form and the guide means 12 extends lengthwise thereof, with a feed pan portion 13 overhanging to the left as seen in FIG. 1, and a downwardly inclined discharge chute portion 14 overhanging to the right for delivering the stripped bobbins B to a collection cart or the like, as indicated in broken lines at C. Alternatively, the discharge chute 14 might be differently arranged to deliver onto a return conveyor (not shown) reaching along one side of the frame structure 10, so as to carry the discharged bobbins B back past an operator positioned at the feed pan l3 and allow any incompletely stripped bobbins B to. be detected readily for feeding through the apparatus again, as the regular feeding of the bobbins B is otherwise attended to.

Stripping of the waste roving R is accomplished according to the present invention by means of the general character disclosed and claimed incopending application Serial No. 12,730, filed March 4, 1960, now US. Patent No. 3,072,997, which employs a pair of elongated nip forming rollers along which a plurality of spent roving bobbins may be progressively advanced so as to be supported adjacent the nip formed by the rollers, while being rotated through driving of the rollers at a relatively high surface speed for causing the free end of waste roving on the supported bobbins to be thrown loose centrifugally to enter the roller nip and be withdrawn therethrough in strand form.,

Such paired nip forming rollers 15 and 16 are arranged in the FIG. 1 apparatus lengthwise of the frame structure 10 and, just below the guide means 12; the relative arrangement being further indicated in FIGS. 2 and 5. One of these rollers 15 is a smooth-surfaced steel roller, while the other one 16 is of somewhat larger diameter and 'is fitted with a suitable friction cover to provide driving traction for rotating bobbins B supported thereon. Both rollers 15 and16 are journalled at their ends on the frame structure 10, with the friction covered roller 16 disposed at a lower lever so that the weight of a supported bobbin B is placed predominantly thereon to increase the tractive advantage ofthe friction covering. A driving connection 17 runs to the roller 16, at a pulley carried beyond its journal mounting at one endtas indicated at 18 in FIG. 1), from a countershaft 19 that is driven in turn by a drive motor 20.

The feed pan portion 13. of the guide structure 12 is arranged at a somewhat elevated level so that spent bobbins B may be advanced manually therefrom onto the nip forming rollers and 16 to rest initially on an auxiliary rod-like roller 21 of about bobbin length, that is disposed to ride on the friction covered roller 16, ad-

jacent its nip with the roller 15, for the purpose of modify-' ing the nip at this point to facilitate entry of the free end of waste roving R in commencing the stripping action.

An auxiliary roller 21 of this sort is particularly helpful in handling spent bobbins B that have been so 'far exhausted as to expose both ends of the waste roving R, so that both ends are subject to being drawn into the roller nip on occasion. When this'happens the roving is forced to break, and the result is apt to be a break closely adjacent the bobbin surface, which makes the free end more difficult than usual to pick up again. The auxiliary roller 21 helps this situation by presenting a modified nip that is closer to the bobbin surface and that operates to pick up such closely broken ends quite effectively.

For the usual roving bobbin B, the paired stripping rollers 15 and 16 should have respective diametric sizes of about 2" and 2%", and the related auxiliary roller 21 should be about to /2" in diameter. This auxiliary roller 21 may be disposed simply to rest at the nip of rollers 15 and 16 for riding on the roller 16, with a retainer bracket 22 arranged on the frame structure 11 to receive a suitable locating means 23 (compare F165. 1 and 3) projecting at an end of the roller 21 to provide for holding it against endwise shifting.

Beyond the initial positioning at the auxiliary roller 21, continued advance of the spent bobbins B causes them to shift into a supported position on both of the paired rollers 15 and 16, and to have the stripping therefrom of the waste roving R completed as they progress toward the discharge chute 14 upon displacement in that direction by continued manual feeding of additional spent bob-' bins B from the feed pan 13. The smaller, smooth-surfaced roller 15 is carried on the frame structure 10 by pivoted bearing mounts 24 (see FIG. 2) that are biased by tension springs 25 to maintain the roller '15 normally pressed in driven contact with the friction covered roller 16, while providing for displacement against the bias of springs 25* to relieve the stripping nip in the event of a lap-up.

Lap-ups rarely occur at the rollers 15 and 16, however, because theirdriven speed to rotate the bobbins B at the previously noted relatively high surface speed, for loosening the free roving end centrifugally to commence stripping, necessarily results in a correspondingly high roller surface speed that acts similarly to throw the stripped roving strand S free beyond the roller nip. Accordingly, the paired stripping rollers 15 and 16 operate normally and very consistently to withdraw the waste roving R from the spent bobbins B and eject it downwardly from the roller nip as a strand S. Several of these stripped roving strands S will ordinarily be ejected concurrently, as indicated in FIG. 4, from the plurality of spent bobbins B that may be progressively advanced along the rollers 15 and 16 for stripping.

As the stripping of each spent bobbin B is commenced, the waste roving strand S that is ejected downwardly therefrom is caught first on a traveling conveyor belt 26 compare FIGS. 1, 4' and 5) to which the strand S is directed by upstanding guide plates 27 and 28 arranged along the respective sides of the belt 26' at itsworking reach. Belt 26 extends lengthwise of the frame struc ture 10 over pulleys 29 and 30 (see FIG. 1), the latter of which is driven from the previously mentioned'counteI- shaft 19, through a connection such as is indicated at 31, so that the upper working reach is caused to travel in the same direction as the spent bobbins B are advanced during stripping.

The driven speed of the conveyor belt 26 should be at least equal to the relatively high surface speed of the stripping rollers 15 and 16, and should preferably be somewhat greater so that as a roving strand S is caught thereon there will be a more pronounced tendency to orient and straighten it in the direction of travel. In any event, the relatively high speeds that are involved will again result in throwing a caught strand S off of the belt 26, at the end thereof carried over pulley 30, and into the nip of an adjacently disposed pair. of holding rolls 32 and 33 that operate as back rolls in relation to a pair of front drafting rolls 34 and 35 spaced therefrom to form a drafting means.

Upon entry of a strand S at the nip of the back rolls 32- and 33, it will be carried through this nip and in turn directed into the nip of the front drafting rolls 34 and 35 which are operated to impose a loosening draft on the roving fiber. For this purpose, the front rolls 34 and 35 are set at a spacing from the back rolls 32 and 33 that is above the staple length of the roving being handled, and are driven to impose a draft in the order of 5 on the roving so as to remove substantially all twist therefrom and result in a roving fiber discharge that has the character of a flattened band of loosely associated fibers.

The drafting means thus provided is arranged in a housing that is carried at the discharge end of the frame structure 10 as indicated generally by the reference numeral 36. Both the back and front roll pairs comprise fluted steel rolls 33 and 35, which may suitably be of about 1- /2" in diameter, paired with larger, frictioncovered rolls 32 and 34 having a diameter of about 2%". Diameters of this order are used so that the relatively high surface speeds characterizing the apparatus of the present invention may be accommodated at manageable speeds of rotation.

Representatively, the bottom back roll 32, which is the driven back roll, would need to operate at about 950 rpm. in order to provide a surface speed adequately related to the surface speed at which the stripping rollers 15 and 16 are desirably driven to take advantage of the high production rates made possible by stripping means of this sort. The surface speed at the back rolls 32 and 33 should afford a tension take-up of about 5% from the stripping rollers. 15 and 16, which would indicate a driving rate'at stripping roller 16 of about 900 r.p.m.; and a draft in the order of 5 would require an operating speed for front .driven roll 34 of about 5000 rpm. Under such circumstances, the conveyor belt 26 should preferably be driven to have a surface speed about equal to that of the back rolls 3-2 and 33, although it should be noted that all of the speeds indicated above are purely representative, and have no specific importance beyond indicating the relations involved and the relatively high speeds employed, which are of particular significance in general terms. I

To mount the bottom back roll 32 and the top front roll 34', the drafting means housing 36 is formed with inwardly projecting supporting lugs 37 and 38 to carry respective bearing units as indicated at 39 and 40 in FIG. 6, and the supporting lugs 38 are suitably slotted to provide for adjusting the draft spacing at which the top front roll is set. The related back and front rolls 33 and 35 are provided with bwring units 41 andj42 that are carried on pivot mounts 43 and 44 for biasing at a proper operating The housing 36 is additionally arranged to accommodate and support a brush roll 47 for operation in the path of loosened roving fiber discharge from the nip of the front drafting roll pair 34 and 35. This brush roll 47 is suitably fitted with a nylon bristle surface, and provided at a diameter of about 4 /2" for driving, through a connection from the drive motor 29 as indicated at 48 in FIG. 1, at a surface speed exceeding the discharge rate from the front roll nip so as to impose a disruptive recovery action on'the drafted roving fiber. At the diameter indicated above, the brush roll 47 may be driven at about 5,000 rpm. to provide this recovery action when set adjacent the front roll nip as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4, and 6. The action of the brush roll 47 is to pull the drafted roving fiber apart as it emerges from the front roll nip and sling comprises progressivelysupporting a plurality of spent it' downwardly in disrupted pieces, such as are indicated at P, so that it may be recovered in a substantially opened condition. A high air velocity suction orifice at approximately the position where the roving impinges on the brush can be substituted for the brush as a means of finally separating the fibers.

The final recovery and delivery to the previously mentioned collection space 11 may be effected by a fan unit 49 operating to impose a suction Within the housing 35 about the brush roll 47 so as to entrain the disrupted roving fiber F through an intake conduit 50 for discharge to the collection space 11. Because the brush roll 47 operates at such a relatively high speed, it is desirable to provide an overhead baffling structure 5 1 within the housing 36, together with additional baflle elements at 52, 53 and 54, so that flow of the recovery suction is obtained past the drafting means and around the brush roll 47 substantially as is indicated by the directional arrows in FIG. 6. Such an arrangement facilitates application of the recovery suction, without hindrance by the draft generating action of the rapidly rotating brush roll 47, and results in an orderly freeing of the disrupted fiber F from the brush roll 47 for transfer to the collection space 11, where it is received in a remarkably open and satisfactory condition.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A method of conditioning waste roving upon stripping of such roving from spent bobbins, which method comprises drafting a strand of stripped waste roving at a draft ratio sufiicient to loosen the roving fiber, discharging the loosened roving fiber freely from said drafting, and subjecting the free loosened roving discharge to an unopposed brushing disruption causing general separation of said loosened fiber.

2. A method of stripping Waste roving from bobbins and converting the stripped roving to the general condition of opened raw stock without damaging the fiber or shortening the staple length thereof, which method comprises stripping said waste roving in strand form, irnposing a loosening draft on the roving strand as it is stripped, discharging the loosened roving fiber freely from said drafting, and subjecting the free loosened roving discharge to an unopposed brushing disruption causing general separation of said loosened fiber to said opened raw stock condition.

3. A method of stripping waste roving from bobbins and converting the stripped roving to the general condition of opened raw stock without damaging the fiber or shortening the staple length thereof, which method comprises stripping said waste roving in strand form, imposing a loosening draft on the stripped roving strand at a draft spacing above the roving staple length and at a draft ratio by which substantially all twist is removed from the roving strand, discharging the loosened roving fiber freely from said drafting, and subjecting the free loosened roving discharge to an unopposed brushing disruption and recovbobbins for concurrent stripping, concurrently stripping the waste roving as individual strands from progressively supported pluralities of said bobbins, imposing a high speed loosening draft on said stripped roving strands at a common drafting station, discharging the commonly loosened roving freely from said drafting station, and commonly subjecting the free loosened roving discharge from said drafting station to an unopposed brushing disruption and recovery handling in a manner causing general separation of the loosened roving fiber to said opened raw stock condition.

5. A method of stripping Waste roving from spent bobbins and converting the stripped roving to the general condition of opened raw stock without damaging the fiber or shortening the staple length thereon, which method comprises progressively advancing spent bobbins in longitudinal alignment through a stripping station, stripping said waste roving as individual strands from the aligned bobbins as they advance through the stripping station, imposing a high speed loosening draft on the stripped roving strands at a common drafting station adjacent the end of said stripping station toward which the bobbins advance, discharging the commonly loosened roving freely from said drafting station, and commonly subjecting the free loosened roving discharge from said drafting station to an unopposed brushing disruption and recovery handling in a manner causing general separation of the loosened roving fiber to said opened raw stock condition.

6. A method of conditioning waste roving for reuse upon stripping from spent bobbins, which method comprises imposing a high speed draft on a strand of stripped waste roving at a ratio sufiicient to loosen the roving fiber, discharging the loosened roving freely from said draft, and adjacently subjecting the free discharge of said loosened roving to an unopposed brushing action applied transversely of the drafting path and at a sufiiciently greater velocity than that at which said roving discharge emerges from said drafting for causing the loosened roving fiber to be separated further for recovery in a condition comparable to opened raw stock.

7. A method of conditioning waste roving upon stripping of such roving from spent bobbins, which method comprises imposing a high speed draft on a strand of stripped waste roving at a ratio sufficient to loosen the roving fiber, discharging the loosened roving freely from said draft, applying an unopposed disruptive brushing action to said loosened roving fiber dicharge as it emerges freely from the draft imposed thereon, and recovering the fiber from said disruptive brushing action by suction.

8. Bobbin stripping apparatus for removing waste roving from spent bobbins and for conditioning the stripped roving advantageously, said apparatus comprising means for stripping said waste roving in strand form, drafting means for receiving the stripped roving strand from said stripping means, for imposing a draft thereon at a ratio sufiicient to loosen the roving fiber, and for discharging the loosened roving freely, and brush means disposed in the path of the free loosened roving discharge and acting unopposed thereon in a disruptive manner causing general separation thereof.

9. Bobbin stripping apparatus comprising nip forming means arranged to support and rotate spent roving bobbins at a relatively high surface speed for causing the free end of Waste roving thereon to be thrown loose centrifugally so as to enter the nip of said means and result in withdrawal of said waste roving therethrough in strand form, conveyor means disposed for collecting the thus '2 withdrawnwaste roving and delivering it still in strand form, high speed drafting means for commonly receiving the collected waste roving strands delivered by said conveyor means and imposing a draft thereon at a ratio sufficient to loosen the roving fiber, and unopposed brush means acting on the loosened roving fiber discharge from said drafting means in a disruptive manner that further opens the recovered fiber substantially.

10. Bobbin stripping apparatus comprising a pair of elongated rollers arranged to form a nip lengthwise thereof at which a plurality of spent roving bobbins may be progressively supported and rotated at a relatively high surface speed for causing the free end of waste roving thereon to be thrown loose centrifugallyso as, to enter the nip of said means and result in withdrawal of said waste roving therethrough in strand from, drafting means arranged to receive stripped roving strands from said nip and impose a loosening draft thereon, collection means arranged to impose a disruptive recovery action on said loosened roving strands, and an auxiliary rod-like roller of about bobbinlength arranged to ride on one of said pair of rollers adjacent an end thereof and adjacent said.

formed thereby, said nip forming means being driven to rotate supported bobbins at a relatively high surface speed for causing the free end of waste roving thereon to be thrown loose centrifugally so as to enter the nip of said means and result in concurrent withdrawal of individual Waste roving strands from each supported bobbin, high speed drafting means disposed adjacently for concurrently receiving the waste roving strands thus withdrawn from said bobbins and imposing a draft thereon at a draft spacing above the roving fiber staple length and at a draft ratio sufiicient to remove substantially all twist from the roving strands so as to discharge loosened roving fiber,

an unopposed brush roll located in the path of loosened roving fiber discharge from said drafting means and rotated at a surface speed exceeding the discharge rate of said loosened fiber so as to apply a'disruptive brushing action thereto, and suction means for recovering the thus conditioned fiber from said brush roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,080,794 Walworth Dec. 9, 1913 1,321,884 Burton Nov. 18, 1919 1,412,719 Stutts Apr. 11, 1922 1,705,426 Terrell Mar. 12, 1929 2,533,603 Sumner Nov. 9, 1948 2,769,598 Drake et a1 Nov. 6, 1956 3,072,997 Graham Jan. 15, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,628 Great Britain of 1914 474,688 Great Britain Nov. 5, 1937 685,487 Great Britain Jan. 7, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,163,913 January 5, 1965 Eugene C. Gwaltney et a1.

ertified that error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby c said Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and that the corrected below.

for "thereon" read thereof Column 6, line 22,

column 8, line line 55, for "dicharge" read discharge 26, for "2,533,603" read 2,453,603

Signed and sealed this 13th day of July 1965.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER ERNEST W. SWIDER I Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

5. A METHOD OF STRIPPING WASTE ROVING FROM SPENT BOBBINS AND CONVERTING THE STRIPPED ROVING TO THE GENERAL CONDITION OF OPENED RAW STOCK WITHOUT DAMAGING THE FIBER OR SHORTENING THE STAPLE LENGTH THEREON, WHICH METHOD COMPRISES PROGRESSIVELY ADVANCING SPENT BOBBINS IN LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT THROUGH A STRIPPING STATION, STRIPPING SAID WASTE ROVING AS INDIVIDUAL STRANDS FROM THE ALIGNED BOBBINS AS THEY ADVANCE THROUGH THE STRIPPING STATION, IMPOSING A HIGH SPEED LOOSING DRAFT ON THE STRIPPED ROVING STRANDS AT A COMMON DRAFTING STATION ADJACENT THE END OF SAID STRIPPING STATION TOWARD WHICH THE BOBBINS ADVANCE, DISCHARGING THE COMMONLY LOSSENED ROVING FREELY FROM SAID DRAFTING STATION, AND COMMONLY SUBJECTING THE FREE LOOSENED ROVING DISCHARGE FROM SAID DRAFTING STATION TO AN UNOPPOSED BRUSHING DISRUPTION AND RECOVERY HANDLING IN A MANNER CAUSING GENERAL SEPARATION OF THE LOOSENED ROVING FIBER TO SAID OPENED RAW STOCK CONDITION.
 12. BOBBING STRIPPING APPARATUS COMPRISING ELONGATED NIP FORMING MEANS ARRANGED TO SUPPORT A PLURALITY OF SPENT ROVING BOBBINS FOR PROGRESSIVE ADVANCE ALONG THE NIP FROMED THEREBY, SAID NIP FORMING MEANS BEING DRIVEN TO ROTATE SUPPORTED BOBBINS AT A RELATIVELY HIGH SURFACE SPEED FOR CAUSING THE FREE END OF WASTE ROVING THEREON TO BE THROWN LOOSE CENTRIFUGALLY SO AS TO ENTER THE NIP OF SAID MEANS AND RESULT IN CONCURRENT WITHDRAWAL OF INDIVIDUAL WASTE ROVING STRANDS FROM EACH SUPPORTED BOBBIN, HIGH SPEED DRAFTING MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENTLY FOR CONCURRENTLY RECEVING THE WASTE ROVING STRANDS THUS WITHDRAWN FROM SAID BOBBIN AND IMPOSING A DRAFT THEREON AT A DRAFT SPACING ABOVE THE ROVING FIBER STAPLE LENGTH AND AT A DRAFT RATIO SUFFICIENT TO REMOVE SUBSTANTIALLY ALL TWIST FROM THE ROVING STRANDS SO AS TO DISCHARGE LOOSENED ROVING FIBER, AN UNOPPOSED BRUSH ROLL LOCATED IN THE PATH OF LOOSENED ROVING FIBER DISCHARGE FROM SAID DRAFTING MEANS AND ROTATED AT A SURFACE SPEED EXCEEDING THE DISCHARGE RATE OF SAID LOOSENED FIBER SO AS TO APPLY A DISRUPTIVE BRUSHING ACTION THERETO, AND SUCTION MEANS FOR RECOVERING THE THUS CONDITIONED FIBER FROM SAID BRUSH ROLL. 